Out of Time
by Lady.Lera
Summary: Ana has been missing for a year, Christian has not given up. Suze and Jesse have been married for a year, they don't expect a thing. But when one girl, a ghost who should NOT be a ghost, shakes up all the equations, some interesting things happen.
1. Jane Doe

The quiet, slow beeping of the heart monitor provided absolutely no comfort to the health of the slight, pale brunette laying under the thin blanket in the dimly lit hospital room. The slight pinkish-red stain around her bandages highlighted the severity of her wounds, the chart that currently read 'Jane Doe' provided Dr. Gallagher with a profound sense of foreboding. He sighed and set the chart back down before quietly walking out of the ICU room and closing the door, scrubbing his hands in the large sink of the shiny metal room that sat in the middle of a four room wing before he walked out to speak once again with the C.H.P.D. Carmel Hills Police Department was looking into the young woman's injuries. Found in an abandoned building bleeding profusely from several knife wounds, Jane Doe was rushed to the Carmel Hills General Hospital where Gallagher had been on ERS duty, Emergency Room Surgeries. He shook his head as he approached the two officers on duty at his hospital.

"It could be a few more day's, maybe a few more weeks, before our Jane Doe wakes up, but she will be in the ICU for at least another week." he murmured and sighed "The knife wounds caused severe internal bleeding, we are worried about brain damage from the bruising on her skull... though we checked in an MRI and she has no bleeding in her brain. She is lucky for that, but there is potential for memory loss and possibly potential for speech impairment or vision impairment. Nothing is for certain until she wakes up." he informed them, motioning for them to follow him towards his office.

"If we brought in a few pictures from the missing persons database, would you be able to identify her?" Officer Hail asked, sitting in one of the chairs of the doctors office, his partner, Officer Hudson, sat down beside him.

"Maybe, the nurse with me the night she came in swore her eyes where blue, but she had only seen them briefly, but I am willing to take a look. The sooner I know who this woman is, the sooner I can get a hold of her records and be sure the best treatment possible is given." Gallagher leaned his arms on his desk and sighed.

"We have a binder with us, we took the description given the night she was found and have put together a partial list, the other half is still being sorted at the station, but we thought we could give this a try" Officer Hudson put the thick black binder on the surgeons desk and leaned back, allowing the surgeon to slowly open the binder and begin to study each picture carefully.

Gallagher was maybe half way through when he froze and pointed to a woman, bright blue eyes, shiny mane of brown hair, a bright smile on her face. "This is her, there is no mistaking it" he murmured and looked up at them, he turned the binder without moving his finger and Officer Hail nodded, memorizing the number written at the top of the woman's picture and flipping to the back, finding her name before reading it out loud.

"Anastasia Grey" he murmured and frowned "I will call the stations" he murmured and stood up, flipping open his cell and stepping into the hallway.


	2. The Call

Christian dragged his hand through his hair, the house felt cold, especially since Ana had disappeared last year. He glared at the phone that was stubbornly quiet, there had been a flurry of leads in the first 6 months, then it slowed down, fewer leads, until the jackpot two months ago, when he had seen her, but she was gone before he had a chance to reach her. He shook his head as the memory floated into his mind.

_ Charity dinners drove him nuts, but this particular one had been a dinner Ana had always been eager to attend, something she had insisted was the best way for her to give back, it was for a children hospital, one that specified with the long term illness, of both the physical AND mental variety. Not only was the dinner to help raise funds for the hospital but a portion of the proceeds was going to a small company whose pride was the work they did with socially awkward teens, or teens with severely low self esteem, a counseling company that focused on improving the outlook of teens and pre-teens on their own selves. Of course, since Ana had loved to go, Christian had insisted on continuing the tradition, getting Teddy dressed up along with Clover, his daughter who had insisted on being called Clover since she was 10 and had talked her mother into legally changing her name when she was 15. The three attended the charity dinner together to honor their mother in her absence, these two took Ana's disappearance the hardest, because they all knew, unlike the cops, that Anastasia had not simply run from the responsibilities that came with being a wife and mother, but that she had been taken away from these responsibilities Ana would never run, Christian had learned that lesson over and over again, each time the result bearing a new meaning but with the same message. Ana was staying. _

_ It was at the end of this dinner, Teddy had already left with his sister back to their University where they both where meeting friends for coffee at the University coffee shop. Christian decided to take a walk through the park, and there he had seen her, just a brief moment he saw those blue eyes, when he turned his head, heart hammering, she was opening her mouth to yell, her eyes wide, but the man beside her noticed him too and ushered her into the sleek black car, scowling at Christian before sliding inside himself. Christian had already broken into a run, trying to reach that car before it pulled away, wanting to pull his Ana from that car and finally take her home, prove to the cops that she was alive, that she had not run away and committed suicide, that she had not simply changed her name and went into hiding, but that she had been taken and kept away from him. He was not fast enough, the car pulled away and tore out of view, but Christian could not help but smile, she was alive. He called the detective and told him what happened, then in a flurry of activity there were cops everywhere. _

Christian looked back to the book he was holding, his fingers tracing the side of the novel, tracing the name on the spine, HER name. Anastasia Grey, author extraordinaire, writing thrilling suspense, sweet romance and exciting action novels in her spare time, the rest of her energy focused on running Grey Publishing and raising her family. She had adapted so well, she had transitioned from shy, fumbling Ana Steele to the strong sophisticated author, publisher and above all, mom; Anastasia Grey. Christian shook his head and sighed, closing the book and standing up, setting it back into its spot in the bookshelf. He looked around her office, warm, cozy, filled with books and manuscripts. He had not had the strength to take over Grey Publishing, so his daughter Clover had, she had put everything on hold to step into her mothers shoes. Even managing to keep some of her courses going during the evenings to stay enrolled at her University, which was of course VERY understanding to their best students current needs. Christian slowly walked from her office, straight into his, the two large rooms connected by a single dark wood door. He smiled fondly, remembering all the times she had locked this door and the main one so she could focus, him on the other side goading her to join him in bed. It was always a loosing battle, she did everything on her terms, and when she had work, she was going to focus on work.

**RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINN NNNNNNNNNNNNGGG **

Christian jumped, his eyes wide and staring at the phone, the line he had set up just for the detectives, the cell phone he had with him at all times.

The phone that had been silent for the past month.

The phone that was now lit up and ringing loudly.

Christian dove to the phone, grabbing it and flipping it open so harshly he thought he might break it, his grip tight on the base.

"Christian Grey" his voice sounded breathy, like he was forcing his breath past a rock in his throat.

"Mr. Grey? Hello, this is Chief David Thievierge, of the C.H.P.D, uh, the Carmel Hills Police Department." the voice was airy, nervous. "We believe we have found your, err, your wife, Mrs. Anastasia Grey?" the voice took a slight sad dive.

Christians stomach dropped like a ton of bricks. "Is she okay?" he asked, his voice strained, tears stinging his eyes.

"Well, she is alive, well, she is at Carmel General Hospital. I feel it may be best if you where to come here, Carmel Hills California. It would be best to explain this face to face" the chiefs voice was strong, soothing, and Christian nodded, then shook his head and remembered he was on the phone.

"I will be there tomorrow" he murmured and hung up, setting into motion and pulling out his blackberry, dialing Elliot's number as he stormed down to his room, pulling out a suitcase and beginning to pack quickly, Taylor was in his room already, eyes wide, waiting for instruction.

"Get the car and the plane ready" he muttered, his voice gruff "We are going to Carmel Hills, California. They found Ana. She is alive but in the hospital" he murmured.


	3. The Mediator

Ghosts Suck.

Thats all Suze had to say on the topic, though her husband Jesse had a much higher view of the undead, seeing as he had spent a century as a member of this exclusive club. Currently staring at the very confused brunette who was perched on her kitchen counter, Suze was sure that Jesse would get mad at this one, after all it WAS their anniversary.

"Dios Mios are you okay?" Jesse was leaning against the counter in front of the brunette, a concerned look on his face.

"W-wait, you can see me?" she asked, her voice was strong despite the falter, one of confidence.

'Just great, another confident, pain in the ass ghost' Suze scowled before clearing her face and walking over, leaning beside her husband and smiling.

"We both can" she quipped and smiled brightly, one hand resting on her swollen belly.

The girl smiled, and it was dazzling, she jumped down from the counter and held out a hand "I'm Anastasia Grey" she introduced, causing both of their jaws to drop.

"THE Anastasia Grey!?" Suze managed to croaked out through her shock.

"Yep that would be me!" The girl sighed "I take it you know me somehow."

"I've read all your books! I search online and in stores regularly for a new release, but its been a year!" Suze gaped, Anastasia Grey had never failed to release 2-3 books a year, mind you she wrote in advance, and some where small but still, she was religious with her releases.

"Well," Ana frowned and leaned against the counter "see, about that, a year ago I was abducted after a book signing in New York, it was the last one, and I had decided to stay an extra night before heading home to Seattle." she smiled brightly at the memory of her home. "However, that evening I took a run and something hard hit me on the back of the head, I woke up later cuffed to a bed, I was fuzzy, could not remember much.."

"They must have drugged you" Suze murmured frowning.

"I guess, but they kept me hidden, cut off my hair and gave me contacts, I've been escorting the rich to these small places since. However one client had me in Seattle, he knew who I was and decided to take me to this park, my Husband saw me, this was two months ago." she sighed and looked to the floor "After that I had to go back into hiding, so they shipped me off to Stockton, an abandoned warehouse, I was cuffed in there for a while, then moved to an equally abandoned warehouse in Carmel Hills, I think that's what they said anyway. Then one night, all I can remember is pain, and waking up in a hospital in Carmel Hills, my body is still breathing, but I am here, like this" she murmured and sighed softly.

Suze frowned and looked at Jesse, "We need Paul on this one, he knows more about the whole out of body experiences" She murmured and stood up straight.

"Don't worry Ana, we will figure this out" she hummed.

Ana nodded and began to fade "I've gotta get back for a while, I will pop by again. My body is at Carmel Hills General" her voice was a wispy sound as she disappeared.

Jesse shook his head and sighed "Well, why do I have a feeling she will write about this now" he hummed with a joking smile and followed a laughing Suze towards the living room.


End file.
